News from the Library of Congress

July 25, 2002

Swann Foundation Announces Fellow for 2002-2003

The Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, administered by the Library of Congress, announces the selection of Sandra Cheng, a Ph.D candidate in art history at the University of Delaware, to receive its 2002-2003 Swann Foundation fellowship.

The fellowship will support research for Cheng’s dissertation, which is entitled "'Il bello dal deforme': Form and Subject in Seventeenth Century Italian Caricature." Her dissertation examines the rise of caricature in 17th century Italy and explores the interrelationship between it as a newly emerging artistic genre and conventional artistic categories, such as portraiture.

As a Swann fellow, Cheng is required to make use of the Library’s collections and be in residence for at least two weeks during the award period. She will also deliver a public lecture on her work-in-progress during the award period.

New York advertising executive Erwin Swann (1906-1073) established the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon in 1967. An avid collector, Swann assembled a large group of original drawings by 400 artists, spanning two centuries, which his estate bequeathed to the Library of Congress in the 1970s. Mr. Swann’s original purpose was to build a collection of original drawings by significant humorous and satiric artists and to encourage the study of original cartoon and caricature drawings as works of art. The foundation’s support of research and academic publication is carried out in part through a program of fellowships. The Swann Foundation awards one fellowship annually (with a stipend of $15,000) to assist continuing scholarly research and writing projects in the field of caricature and cartoon.